Skelos: We’re still working out details of ‘Skleinos’

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos didn’t offer any details on how resources will be apportioned or who will control which Senate committees, but expressed confidence in the stability of the newly announced coalition of his Republican conference with the five-member Independent Democratic Conference.

“I believe the people of this state had an early Christmas present. We’re going to continue to move the state forward,” Skelos told Susan Arbetter during an interview on The Capitol Press Room.

Skelos said he and IDC leader Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, are “working through the process on everything here, and what we’ve committed to each other is that there’s no issue we feel we can’t resolve in a bipartisan, favorable way.”

He said that the IDC “would be formalized” in the Senate rules this year. They’ll be adopted in early January. Appointments to bodies like JCOPE will have to be agreed upon jointly — I’m not sure how that will work out.

Mostly, Skelos reassured Arbetter and her listeners that things would run smoothly.

“We’re no strangers working with each other. We’ve socialized together,” he said. “I think this is going to be a good marriage, a marriage of trust.”